Ten-hut!

This year for spring break I wanted to do something to not only keep the kids busy, but also something worthwhile.  After reading this blog post about age-by-age skills that kids should know, I knew what I wanted to do:  Boot Camp!  The boys love anything related to the military, so I knew they would be into it.  And Lil’ Miss loves to hang out with the boys, so we were set!

To prepare, I got each of the 3 older kids a uniform (camouflage shirt, traditional green for the boys and pink for the girl) and a dog tag with the words “I Can Do Hard Things” inscribed on them.

The morning of Boot Camp I handed out the uniforms and dog tags and started calling the kids recruits.  They ate it up!  I then explained that in order to gain a rank, they needed to complete two skills. To keep track of their progress I made a simple chart and gave a star sticker for each completed task.

I’m not a real drill sergeant, though.  After they completed tasks they were also allowed to do activities, such as navigating an obstacle course, playing a rousing game of “Sergeant Says,” or shooting targets with their Nerf guns.

I really wanted to encourage their independence, so at breakfast and lunch they were expected to fill their own cereal bowl and make their own sandwiches.

Another fun thing we did, was set up pup tents.  I found some $5  tents at Kmart that worked well.  We even let them sleep in the tents one night.

We finished the week up with a trip to our local Air Force museum.  Unfortunately the day we went was quite snowy and we didn’t brave the weather to check out all the planes they had outside the museum.  We’ll definitely have to go again when the weather is nicer!

The highlight of the week for me was hearing the kids recite to themselves, “I can do hard things,” as they tackled their tasks.  And if  the week only helped them gain a little confidence then I would consider it: Mission Accomplished!

Spoiled!

So, I celebrated a birthday over the weekend and I just have to tell you that I am spoiled!  First thing on my birthday, I had to go to a meeting for church, which was totally worth it because when I got home the house was tidied up and decorated in pink streamers and balloons.  On the counter were pink and white roses and there was a special guest of honor birthday badge for me to wear!  It was Barbie and I LOVE Barbie!

Later I had an eye appointment, which wasn’t super fun, but after that I got to go shopping all by myself!

When I got home, Lincoln went and got me an ice cream cake  from Cold Stone.  When the Babe saw it, she wanted it so badly that she bawled when we put it in the freezer to save to eat after dinner.  As for dinner, we went as a family to Wingers because I just love their sticky fingers.  (I’ve been craving them for awhile.)  The kids were even pretty good a the restaurant!

After dinner we came home and ate the cake, which was divine!  And I didn’t even tell you about my awesome birthday present  from my sweet husband!  Meet Lucy:

  

I don’t know why I feel compelled to name this machine, but it just seems to fit!  I can’t wait to whip up some goodies in this bad-girl!

It was a good birthday.  I may just have another one next year!

Holidays 2010

Our holiday season started off with a bang as Lincoln’s sister was married on the Saturday before Thanksgiving. 

Since everyone was there for the wedding, most of Lincoln’s siblings and their families were able to stick around for Thanksgiving.  It was amazing to have such a big group at his parents’ house for dinner! Our kids really enjoyed hanging out with their cousins.

 

Christmas is such a busy time of year for us.  Not only is it Christmas, but also the girls have their birthdays.  We try to enjoy the season. This year we went to several light displays, attended our ward Christmas party and even made a quick trip to Idaho to visit family.

On Christmas Eve we had our traditional finger-food buffet, which included:

• chicken quesadillas
• Bagel Bites
• meatballs
• sweet and sour chicken wings
• Lil’ Smokies
• mini chocolate éclairs
• Pomegranate 7-Up

We followed dinner up with our rendition of the nativity.  Lil’ T and Lil’ Miss were Joseph and Mary.  Big T was a shepherd/inn keeper and the Babe just ran around.

Normally on Christmas Eve the kids get to open Christmas PJs, but this year we decided to give the kids their PJs right after Thanksgiving so they could enjoy them all through December.  So, instead of PJs on Christmas Eve, we let the kids open our new Kinnect for our X Box.  We spent the evening playing the fun, interactive games.  Then the kids reluctantly went to bed, carefully leaving chocolate éclairs out for Santa.

Sure enough, the next morning it was obvious that Santa had come!

We made Christmas morning last as long as possible and then the kids played with their new toys and Lincoln and I rested a bit. 

Not too long though, because we needed to get ready for the Babe’s birthday!  We decided that until she can express her opinion otherwise, we will celebrate Christmas in the morning and her birthday in the evening.

We have a new tradition for the girls’ birthdays.  We now have a fun, pink Christmas tree the will be their birthday tree.  (Lil’ T asked if we can get the “green tree” out for his birthday.  Sorry, Bud!)

 

Three days later, we celebrated Lil’ Miss’ birthday with a Princess Tea Party.  We were lucky enough to have some of her cousins here to celebrate with us.

The menu for our tea party included:

• Ariel’s Seashell Sandwiches
• Aurora’s Magical Changing Sandwiches
• Tiana’s Frog Eye Salad
• Snow White’s Candied Apples
• Cinderella’s Glass Slipper Cookies
• Belle’s Enchanting Castle Cake (see picture above)

We finished out the celebrations with a low-key pizza and movie party on New Year’s Eve.  (Most of us were even in bed by 10:00pm.) 

We look forward to another fun and exciting year!

Halloween 2010

Wow! This year is flying by! I like to think I am too busy enjoying life to blog about it. It's a nice thought!

Halloween was fun this year, but a bit on the rainy side. The kids and I made it to about 15 houses and then decided that we were tired of getting wet. Well, I should say the boys and I were done, but Lil' Miss kept saying, "One more house?"

Here are some pictures of the kids' costumes (taken of course by their dear old dad!):

Blessing the Babe

More than a month ago we blessed The Babe. It was a nice blessing. Not a lot of people came, but that actually alleviated a lot of stress. We had Lincoln’s parents and my parents, and also my brother and his family and my youngest sister. So we had our close family that live close! Here are a few pictures of the day:

The pictures of our family turned out really dark, so I will have to see if I can get a copy from someone else!

I’ve been wanting have a blessing dress photo shoot and finally this week I was able to get a few shots:

I also decided to do some onesie shots:

The last one is my new favorite picture of her!

And last but not least, here is a video of The Babe’s first big laugh:

PS I’m not really sure what Lil’ T is explaining to her, but she sure had a good laugh! By the way, I always figured it would be him that would really get her to giggle!

Ode to the Refrigerator Biscuit

Did you know just how versatile the refrigerator biscuit is?  I had no idea myself until about a month ago.  That’s when I saw a recipe on TV that used biscuits to make flat bread.  It’s a recipe worth trying.  Lincoln and I give it 2 thumbs up!  And the kids don’t seem to mind having this for dinner.

Flat Bread Tacos

Since finding that recipe, I have found 2 others that have become family favorites:

Individual Chicken Pot Pies

and

Grands!® Taco Melts

Who knew all the great things you can make with a tube of biscuits?!

One Month Old

In honor of The Babe turning one month old, I thought I would post a few pictures that Lincoln has taken of her and the kids: One Month Old
She really is adored by all of her siblings!

This is her coming home from the hospital outfit. We figured she would be our little Christmas present. We just didn't know how right we would be!

Lil' T keeps telling me how cute she is because she doesn't get into any trouble.

Lil' Miss would call this "Naked nu-nu!"

Can't believe I'm the mother of 4!